What are the costs of pet adoption?

Hello everyone – today we’re talking pet adoption! Last year after moving somewhere with a little bit more space we decided to fufill a long held aim and adopted a cat from a rescue centre. It’s been incredibly rewarding for us and I’d highly recommend it – so for anyone thinking of adopting a pet I thought I’d write about our experiences of the journey and what costs you may need to consider when adopting a pet.

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I’ve covered two main things in this article – the experience we had going through the adoption process, and then diving more into the costs and items we have had to think about in the first few months of ownership in the second half.

A picture of Misty, our lovely cat below. Despite not having the easiest of starts in life, she’s settled in incredibly well as a member of the family and is now such a confident cat in both showing her love and exploring the neighbourhood! She comes and cuddles up with us in the morning, and that’s when you really feel the joy of giving an animal a good home.

This article is mainly focuses on cats and dogs (and on the finances slightly more cat focused given we’ve our recent direct experiences) – however the pet adoption process will be similar for both cats and dogs.

(Note: We may receive a small commission for referring you using our links, but it won’t affect the service you receive and per our editorial policy, we always write honestly about what we review, no matter if we get paid or not).

Why adopt a rescue Pet?

Whilst you’ve to do what’s right for you, I really do recommend going rescue if possible. There are unfortunately far too many cats and dogs in need of good homes and many centres are slightly overwhelmed by demand for their services.

Some are put off rescues on the basis of the potential for behavioural issues, but this really isn’t the case for all animals that come from them – beyond being a little skittish, I don’t think you could really tell that Misty has been a rescue cat.

So animals do have special requirements or have more challenges though if it’s something you’re concerned about, it is worth speaking with the animal charity directly as their main focus should be pairing you up with the right cat for you.

When not to take on rescue dog or cat

I just wanted to put a note of caution here to try and minimise any risk of animals being returned.

If you have got any doubts you can manage an animal with some wider issues please don’t take this on because you feel sorry for them – it’s so important that rescue animals ideally find stability going forward and better they go to a home that can support them

And please do think what you realistically expect in terms of living your life in future as well as today and how that may change, and if you can realistically commit to an animal for the longer term if factors like work and location change.

Picking a Rescue Centre for Pet Adoption

Moving an animal when they’re not familiar with you can be a distressing experience, so I’d suggest starting with Googling rescue centres that are near you – this minimises transport time for the animal whilst also letting you support somewhere local to you.

I’d also encourage you to look at smaller shelters if you have them near you.

The reasons for this are twofold – firstly whilst you want to do your research, many small centres do fantastic work in volunteering and giving lots of love to the animals and really care about what they do. Our cat was being fostered when we got her and could see was very well looked after.

The second is a little more controversial (and I need to stress this not the case everywhere) but I have found some of the larger animal charities have become a little zealous in their list of requirements for the animals.

I’ve now had more than a couple of friends who would be excellent dog and cat parents give up with the bigger names after finding an exhaustive list of requirements to a point that was untenable (such as being asked about guaranteed working from home, regardless of an individual dogs need). An feature in The Times just before I’m writing this article highlighted one of their journalists having similar issues with a recognised name.

I confess I got slightly annoyed on hearing these stories because my friends had put significant consideration into the animal’s needs and considered how they could put arrangements in place like doggy daycare – but what the charity were being asking for could only realistically apply to a very small amount of the population.

There are perfectly legitimate reasons charities have to be cautious and apply due care – putting animals into an environment where their safety and life may be threatened or exposure to animal cruelty is clearly unacceptable, and there are unfortunately cases of unscrupulous breeders looking to take rescues to sell on at a profit.

However there is a balance, and I tended to find the smaller charities have struck the right note between checks and placement.

What are the steps to Pet Adoption?

To build on the above, I’ll describe our journey for cat adoption and the various roles we had to go through.

This process has started after we had seen a cat on the charities website we thought might be right for us, and reached out to enquire.

Initial Follow Up Conversation

A lady from the charity called us to ask about our house, why we like a cat and then why specifically we’d expressed interest the cat from the website. The aim was to find out a little bit about our lifestyle, talk about any potential obstacles (such as upcoming holidays) and basically find out if what they knew about the cat matched up with what we could provide.

A number of things which could have been potential blockers were also discussed – such as traffic around our house and security of the garden area given our chosen cat was used to the outside.

The chat was friendly and informal, and then walked us through next steps for having our home inspected for suitability.

Home Inspection

• We were asked to put aside a room away from a main thoroughfare that the potential cat could have as her own space to retreat to whilst she settled in, and show this.
• We were asked to walk through the access points to the property and show where the cat would go in and out. We did not have a cat flap at this time and so were asked if we would commit to putting one in and how we could manage access in the meantime.
• We walked the inspector through our garden and the side passages around the property.
• The road outside our property was monitored for the amount of traffic, and they had clearly researched busier roads slightly further away.
• If we had identified a local vet to register with.
• Finally, an identity check was performed against official documents to confirm we were who we said.

Meeting our Rescue Cat

After this point, we were told we were suitable for adoption and they thought our chosen cat might suit us well – so the next step was to visit her!

No pressure was put on us – the charity reinforced not to have any expectations on bonding with the animal when meeting in practice sometimes it’s just not right for either party, so there was no expectations. We were also warned that it would likely take a little bit of time for Misty to warm up when we got there.

We visited Misty at the foster flat she was in and initially she went into hiding whilst we had a cup of tea. Her natural curiosity meant she began to slowly emerge and with the encouragement of some Dreamies and cat toys she was clearly significantly more comfortable with us and keen to be by us.

It was love at first slight for us too, and we walked away immediately knowing she was the right cat for us – absolutely zero regrets since as she’s made her home with us!

What Costs might I incur Adopting a Pet?

Here is our breakdown of the costs we incurred when adopting our pet, or others that didn’t apply to our situation but might apply to you.

Animal Centre Adoption Cost

Most centres will ask you for a fee or donation on adopting the animal. Ours was £100 – this shouldn’t be too expensive but will vary by the particular centre.

Initial Vet Examination

When you register the animal with your vet you’ll usually then book them in for an initial checkup – the vet will be able to advise you of any issues and give you pointers on care and feeding.

We paid £85 for this for our cat, with the appointment being about 15 minutes – not cheap but essential!

Feeding

As part of the initial vet examination, they will weigh your pet and tell you how much to feed your pet.

In practice, this can be via dry or wet food or a combination of the two. Pets generally prefer wet food but dry food is quite a bit cheaper. Your pet will need more water if eating a mainly dry food diet.

How much does Cat Food Cost?

We went with a relatively premium cat food in the Purina One range, which I’d describe as middle to high priced.

Our cat eats a combination of dry food and wet food.

For wet food, we get the the x40 Pouch Purina One Mixed Fillet Selection. It’s somewhere between £14-£17 at time of writing, with our cat eating one a day – so last 40 days.

If your cat is on a wet food only diet, you’ll need to up this to 2-3 packs a day.

For dry food, we by the 6kg bag of Adult Dry Cat Food.

If you have a kitten or an older cat, you’ll want to look at a food that’s formulated for them.

The links above are for Amazon, but all are also available at Pets at Home.

Other Pet Feeding Items

Remember you’ll also need something to feed them from and give them water! So you’ll need at least one feeding bowl and a water bowl. Cats can be fussy about the two being together so you might find you want to separate them and also get a mat to protect your floors.

Both cats and dogs can enjoy puzzle feeders as well, where they have to work out how to get their food!

Pet Insurance

Pet Insurance is technically optional, but I’d strongly suggest it’s a good idea.

Many people aren’t clear on what pet insurance covers so I’ll start with a little bit on this.

What does Pet Insurance Cover?

Pet insurance covers where your pet has encountered a serious injury, or developed a life threatening illness that requires continued care. This helps you manage big costs like having to pay for an unexpected surgery.

It does not cover ongoing pet maintenance like vet visits, injections and flea treatments – some have an expectation it does.

Lifetime and Time Limited Pet Insurance Policies

One decision you’ll need to make with Pet Insurance is that if you pet develops a condition requiring ongoing care if the policy will cover treatment for the remainder of your pets life, or for a fixed time period like 12 months.

Obviously the lifetime policy is more expensive, but lowers your risk of facing ongoing costs here. There’s no right answer here – it’s a balance. We opted for time limited with the intent to switch to lifetime as our cat gets older and is more likely to face ongoing conditions.

How much does Pet Insurance Cost?

There’s a huge range of potential costs here as it will depend on your pet, their age, breed and any specific existing conditions.

We are paying about £80 a month for this with Sainsbury’s Pet Insurance. Our advice on Pet Insurance is standard to all insurance – it’s really worth shopping around and using comparison sites. Popular names include ComparetheMarket, GoCompare and Confused.Com.

Spaying and Neutering

If you are adopting a particularly young pet you may need to have the animal spayed and neutered.

This is a good idea as a responsible pet owner – it helps manages animal overpopulation and will also protect your animal from various diseases, whilst also making them less likely to engage in activities like territorial marking or harassing other animals!

Obviously it goes without saying this also avoids any surprising in terms of finding yourself with a large amount of smaller additional pets as well.

Spaying and neutering usually takes place around the six month mark, but any reputable shelter should will have investigated the animals veterinary history and be able to tell you if this is required or not.

How much is Spaying and Neutering?

Costs will depend on the size of the animal, with dogs tending to be at the higher end of this scale and particularly female dogs as the operation becomes slightly more complex.

Expect to pay anywhere between £100-£400. Reaching out to your local vet beforehand is a good way to get a guideline price.

Worming and Flea Treatments (and Prescription)

If pets are going outside or going to be in contact with other animals, it’s worth considering they’re getting a regular flea and worming treatment as when you get either in your home, it’s not fun for you or your pet. These treatments are designed to be preventative.

What do Worm and Flea Treatments Cost?

The more effective treatments require a prescription from your vet – this will itself come with a small cost (our about £10). Treatments will vary depending on size of animal – for a medium cat our spot on treatment was about £25 – and see notes on cheaper alternatives below.

Saving Money on Pet Worm and Flea Treatments

There are some alternatives here, such as flea collars and Pets at Home also offer a range of flea preventative services available without prescription.

Please be aware these are not as effective as the prescription ones, but can be more budget friendly so is a matter for you to balance the risks of. They are not a particularly good option for if your pet already had fleas.

Bedding

Purchasing bedding is always a bit of a danger with cats – you’ll find plenty of people who’ve bought expensive cat beds and found their cat completely ignored it! My advice is to buy one but keep the tags on.

We bought this Igloo bed from Pets at Home. Misty duly ignored it for her first three weeks but then becoming inseparable from it – as demonstrated by our model below!

If your house is a little cold, one other thing I’d really recommend is getting a heat pad, which is Misty’s favourite other spot.

It gives her somewhere warm to cuddle up if the heating is off or on very cold days and is suitable for cats or dogs. We purchased this one from Amazon which I would really recommend as effective.

Toys and Play

One thing that can really help your pet settle in is to have some toys within their private den area for them to play with – but when your cat or dog begins to emerge you’ll want some toys you can play with together as part of your bonding with your pet.

We found our cat loved these catnip mice and having a bag of balls to roll around, however by far the most successful toy is “Da Bird”, a fishing type toy which she chases around – can be found here at.

When I bring this out her eyes always go wide in anticipation which I love!

Cat Tree

Not an essential purchase but I also got Misty a cat tree, which comes with the advantage of coming with a scratching post and somewhere to hide, look out and jump out from!

I picked up this one from Amazon – it requires a little bit of construction on arrival but is study and has been successful for her.

Any questions?

We’ve found adoption a great option for us – but if you have any questions on the financial side we can help with please let us know!

We’re happy to share our experiences but the shelters themselves or a vet are best to direct your questions to if you have questions on animal care.

And that’s it!

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